Handmade primitive goodes preserving the future by honoring the past.

08/25/2013

Spring punches the earth with color and rids us of our dreary brown stale winter.

Here in Texas the fields are alive with vibrant wildflowers, the butterflies are surfing the sweet jasmine breeze, and the song birds reign. Sitting quietly in the new grass, prowling, spying..... just waiting- are the new cats on the block!

The arrival of Spring also brings my tradition of purging the sweaters. I tend to buy lots of sweaters each year and then wear only one aside from my fave ratty old man cardigan. What better way to keep loving our wooly wonders than to upcycle them in to something sweet and sassy!

Old sweaters are so soft and wool sweaters can be easily felted by machine washing and drying. This makes for clean and easy to care for fabric that can be upcycled in to softie toys, coffee cup cozies, and handmade baby shower gifts. Possibilities are endless!

02/21/2013

There was a time when a trip to the pediatrician was exactly that: a trip to the pediatrician. Usually it was to get yet another doctor's note for school to explain away the usual absences associated with school age children and their germy ways. I always took along a stitching project because my hands would (and still do) go stir crazy if left idle for more than 2 minutes. But Baby Girl is now 17, and when a routine doctor visit took a turn for a nightmare in 2011, with an unexpected need for open heart surgery, there hasn't been a routine doctor visit since.

When I brought Baby Girl lunch at school just before noon yesterday I knew something wasn't right. She was shaky and grey, complaining of abdominal pain. Within the hour the school nurse would call and one look at Baby Girl doubled over on the couch- I knew it was going to be a loooong visit at the doctor's office. Grabbing my car keys, cell phone, wallet, and the nearest craft project- we bolted out the door.

This is routine now. Pain will subside, tests will be run and we will wait for results. This is when I pull out my stitching to pass the time. It helps with nervous energies as well. A mother's mind is keen at imagining the worst possible outcomes in a doctor's office if left to wander in the sterile box of a waiting room. Armed with a blank wool bunny I made earlier this week from an up-cycled coat, and some natural wool roving from Milltown Primitives, I begin the calming work of needle punching polka dots. Slowly, bunny grey is coming to life as Baby Girl is resting.

More spots will be added as we venture to the ER with what looks like appendicitis. Even more spots will be added as appendicitis is ruled out and another battery of tests is performed. Slow little perfect circles sculpted in place with the needle as Baby Girl is wheeled back in to the room. On the outside she and I are tough as nails. Inside we are freaking out at the idea of another surgery. Polka dots are finished up just before the final diagnosis of "possible" appendicitis and we are sent home to keep watch.

02/20/2013

Feeling imprisoned between the Texas Gulf Coast and Houston's urban sprawl, I made a mad dash for sanity in the great open counties northwest of the city this past weekend. Just west of Katy on I-10, I took a right and drove until mercados and roadside taquieras disappeared behind me and before me there were only cow dotted hillsides and soaring hawks riding silence like hang gliders. Meandering along Farm Roads from Bellville to Caldwell, I stopped only for the dilapidated and the obscure. With winter branches still bare, old abandoned houses set farther back from the road are revealed making their final appeal.

Deep under the pricker vines twisting through the bare oak branches, a collapsed facade is barely detected. Like a dollhouse opened to exposed rooms, the sunlight shines on a back bedroom. The bed and a favored chair hold fast to their positions as the floor caves underneath. The skeletal remains of furniture and and hints of delicate wallpaper tell the story of a once treasured life. This was a woman-centered home. Feminine touches still shine through the decay and a faint scent of roses lingers here.

Once spring arrives, the vines and limbs will strengthen its hold and continue to pull what remains back into the ground, snapping beams like pole beans and shattering windows whose breaks will not be heard.

In another month when bluebonnets dominate the roadsides and fresh leaves camouflage the past, this wee house will go quietly into her goodnight.

Aside from from abandoned houses, ghost towns also offer history rich cemeteries. On the road from Snook to Caldwell is Providence Cemetery. This meticulously maintained memorial ground contains the remains of early settlers, Civil War veterans, slaves and the sad reflection of infant mortality in pioneering life.

Rows of markers show the sorrow of parents who lost as many as six children; each dying before they reached the age of 4. As a Mom, I can't imagine such sorrow. It's ironic that as much as I seek out the fallen houses to base my art dolls on the lives that once were- I seldom take into account the lives that never had a chance against frontier life and yellow fever. I also forget that slavery was a big part of the early Southern Texas cotton industry. Large plantation houses still stand twenty miles away in Independence and Washington.

Time moves forward, people grow old and die, some stories get told while others are left with simple markers in a bygone era. In an ever growing tech-centered, busy world it's important to get out in to wide open spaces where history paved the way for modern convenience. It is where history lives, breathes, and mingles with science in the beauty of rural decay.

02/19/2013

With Spring just around the corner I can't help but make Bunny Foo Foos by the armfuls! Theses up-cycled gems are super easy and one of the first Rustic Foo Foo collaborations for me and my bestie, Ashlie (of Painting Bliss). Ahhhhhh the memories!

We both have grown considerably since 2008, but some ideas remain a friendship staple. Whether it was a shared idea interpreted in different media or actual projects that were shipped cross country for completion, our thoughts have been a connected thread of inspiration from the start.

Over the years, many a Foo Foo bunny has been sent as baby shower gifts, toddler basket fillers, or primmed out for country Easter displays. They have gone as far as Sweden, Denmark and Alaska. Bunny Foo Foo was my first ever Etsy sale and has recently become my first ever pattern with the help of Lisa, of Wooly Primitives!

So simple yet so significant in so many ways! Bunny Foo Foo will be the official mascot of the Rustic Foo Foo on the day Ashlie and I open her doors- whether it be a shared booth or the official storefront we've dreamed of since day one! We know the power of shared inspiration and working toward a common goal. Though she is 2000 miles away, Ashlie is in every step of my journey.

02/18/2013

Sometimes I just need to be told what to do. My creative mind races 160 mph daily and at times it is difficult to see the glowing red light signaling a slow down is in order. That's when it's time to dive into the archives and pull out an oldie but goodie! Something with simple lines and easy to follow instructions, not subject to my overly-self-scrutinizing. Something from waaaay on back that I can up-cycle into 2013!

I found this Heart's Content pattern at Goodwill years ago- knowing I could still use the basic primitive shape. Of course, I can't find the cover picture in my studio mess but you all know those famous 80's country style rabbits! I chuckled at those white cotton bunnies with the big mauve bows adorning a powder blue basket handle. I sighed with good memories of 1987- the year I graduated high school! I remember going to many craft shows with my Mom and swooning over such rabbits all frilled out with starchy lace and satin ribbons. I know if I went back to my old room, I would find Mr. & Mrs. Cottontail still nestled in the antique doll crib.

I made my version of this bunny using linen and a generous grungy soak in spiced coffee. Setting him out in the warm spring sun to dry, he made fast friends with Harley Bear and Fiona who anxiously waited for wee rabbit to come down from the tree branches to play.

Bunny will soon receive a name, a spring in his step, some prim features and hopefully give chase to Harley Bear- looks like she could use a little exercise for that winter weight gain ;)

I'm not sure whatever became of of Heart's Content patterns but I love the timelessness of the primitive tradition! Makes me wonder who will be chuckling at my work in 25 years!

02/15/2013

I have known my best friend, Ashlie Blake, for seven years now and it's hard to believe we have never met face to face! We talk everyday, Skype, and I even have been to dinner with her husband during his recent business trip to NASA; Ashlie had to stay behind in New York (waaahhhh!). But this March Ashlie is coming to visit li'l ol' me deep in the heart of Texas!! Oh the places we will see! Perhaps the first will be the notorious ghost towns alive with Texas wildflower fields!

Ashlie and I have been through thick and thin, had each other's backs, and have laughed endlessly about the simplest things. She is my virtual co-worker, my product development specialist, and my integrity compass. Together we have set the parameters of building our creative businesses and stayed true to ourselves.

I've had the honor of watching Ashlie's talents expand and evolve over time. The works in today's post are some of her early paintings that I have coveted. I have a large collection of early Ashlie work that I will house until the day she, or her children, one day decide they would like to have returned.

One thing I love most about Ashlie is her modesty. She has been published, featured, and sought after in many venues and still she remains humble. She is honestly shocked with every Somerset Studios email confirming her work will be published, or when Cloth Paper Scissors requests an article from her. Best of all: I am always the first to hear her good news!!

02/13/2013

Spring sheep have begun grazing in my studio and I am delighted with the new materials for this year's herd! Mohair blends returns as my usual fave but the thrifting gods have been very very good to me this week, allowing for some new sheep style on the block!

One of my greatest joys is giving new life to old garments- especially vintage coats whose wide collars or boxy silhouettes render them doomed to destruction. Houston is home to a plethora of monstrous thrift stores with pristine offerings! The warmer climate makes coats a mere fashion statement so often they are cast off in mint condition once the fad has passed. Mohair blends, cashmere and leather have been my top picks but I have been on the long search for spotless sherpa and this past weekend I scored!

This 1990 beauty has been a dream fabric! The outside leather is cheesecake soft! Cutting in smooth lines with very little "wool dust" (my term for those wee fibers that permeate the nostrils). It even sailed through the sewing machine like a silent sailboat on a misty morning! The result is a compact, prim perfect sheep! Using "cracked" leather (a new-with-tags leather coat find that I initially felt guilty for hacking- but I got over that quick!) gave this wooly guy the aged expression I wanted.

This weekend's sheep were made from three coats: A vintage mohair blend, a vintage sherpa, and a brand new distressed leather. Each coat cost me $1.50! Using up-cycled goods allows me to use top-o-the-line fabrics and keep my prices at an everyday level. Up-cycling also keeps our landfills a little cleaner and is in keeping with the true primitive tradition.

If you would like a Sherman (sherpa- $35) or Molly (mohair- $25), send me an email at handofbelapeck@gmail.com or look for them in my Etsy shop later this week.

02/11/2013

When the snow falls deep and fluffy around the old homestead, and Mom sends a pic of good ol' 363 up to her second stone wall of drifted accumulation I am full of memories. Suddenly I am eight years old with my nose pressed to the second story bull's eye glass window panes, staring down the hill to my best friend's house. I am wondering if it's too early to fire up the rotary phone and sound the battle cry of fresh hillsides waiting to be plundered by our sleds.

I haven't seen snow like this since I left New England 20 years ago. Splitting those 20 years between Florida and Texas has left little chance for flurries in the forecasts. When we are young we want to see the world and be as far away from home as geographically possible. If someone told me 20 years ago I would see my parents maybe once a year from that point on and I would never know the joy of that cold drafty dining room on Thanksgiving again...... maybe I would've thought twice. Maybe. Having my own graduating senior who is now full of travel ideas and the lure of far away places, I wonder how I never took my parents' feelings into consideration. Perhaps it's the secret power of parenting that we know if we restrict a dream, it somehow forces it's way to the surface with or without parental blessings.

This house is home for me. No matter how far I roam it always will be. I carry her memories with me everyday of my life. It is here I learned to stitch, unearthed history lessons in plastered walls, had the first kiss from the boy who would become my husband, and where I drafted the story of my life. It is here that my mom hugged away my teenage tears and I learned that if I fell I could always get up to try again. I am lucky that my parents still live here. I can go home to hear the floorboards creak out past tales, pull on the latches, and hear my father complain about someone using all the hot water in this one bathroom house. When I see my Dad in this photo, standing to the right side of the house, I laugh knowing he is complaining about having to suffer like Puritans in the fierce New England winters. Though they complain, they will never leave. This is their home. It is a mythical place my husband and I hope to find one day.

So today, from Galveston's shores I wander through my thoughts of home, marvel at the stunning beauty of freshly fallen snow so far away, and adjust my toes in the sun-warmed sands so thankful that the only shoveling I will be doing will be in my garden. But y'all have fun up there!

02/08/2013

When I moved to the Galveston area last year I found sanctuary in the artsy shops of The Strand. An area rich with history, loaded with ghost stories, and romanticized with horse drawn carriages, The Strand is my reward for having to live in the south suburbia abyss of Houston. Technically I live one mile closer to Galveston than to Houston so I can claim "Galveston area" if it makes me feel better. :) Oh and it does!!

Hendley Market is my one stop shop to pick up Papaya Art cards, lavender soap, and silkworm cocoons hand dyed by Sheep and Hook Fibers. A trip to Hendley Market on a homesick day instantly lifts my spirits. Imagine my elation to now be a part of such an eclectic and marvelous landmark store! I just melt seeing my wee cocoon mice nestled in the beautiful work of Sheep and Hook Fibers! Read more about this fabulous Texas artist here in the Islander Magazine!

I now have my own counter display!

Hendley Market is housed in one of the oldest buildings on the Strand and was used as a Port lookout post during the Civil War. The proprietors of Hendley Market warmly welcome customers' bare feet and dogs while browsing the wide selection of Texas artists, antiques, toys and uniques.

I frequently visit the sewing goodes. Why use my own buttons when I can dip my hands into the chilly earthy relief of presorted mother of pearl lovelies? At 10 cents per button I can entertain myself until the staff kicks me out!

Hendley Market is a trip around the world within four brick walls! Beautifully hand crafted masks, purses, and woolies ensure there is something for everyone! Whether you are shopping for an inexpensive trinket of whimsy, luxurious local yarns or one of a kind Texas artwork, Hendley Market has it!

If you happen to be in the Galveston area stop in and see what's new at Hendley! If you live far away- check out your local area for unique stores that delight the soul!

02/07/2013

Ahhhhh spring is just around the corner! Twirly tweets are heard in the trees as the pairing up and nesting festivities begin. The cardinals and blue jays have returned to that overgrown shrubby tree in my neighbor's yard. The mourning doves are publicly displaying their affections on the rooftop much to the dismay of my dog, Harley-Bear, who can't chase them away. And the opportunistic weeds have taken their jump on the growing season. That means peep season is here and my hands have been busy stitching away!

Sweet Peep production is in full swing in the studio. This year I've added primitive grungy and mohair birds. I love working with washed woolens from up-cycled vintage coats. The wool and mohair blend shrinks up to a fluffy, delightfully compact fabric.

Peeps are currently available at Hendley Market on the Strand in Galveston, and in my Etsy shop. This batch will be debuting this weekend in both locations.